Rotary vegetable holder

ABSTRACT

A vegetable holder used to retain and secure an item includes a handle, a retaining member, and an elongated member. The handle, which is shaped like a tear, is connected to the retaining member and the elongated member. The elongated member includes a plurality of projecting members spaced part on a base. A method of using the vegetable holder includes piercing a vegetable with one or more of the projecting members that extend from the elongated member; griping the handle with a plurality of fingers; and rotating the base that is connected to the piercing members with a thumb or a finger.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/641,207, filed Jan. 4, 2005, which is incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates to a holding device, and more particularly, to a device that can hold or grasp fruits or vegetables.

2. Related Art

Implements such as cutlery and flatware are used to hold, serve, and handle food. These implements can be inserted into or underlie a food item, which enables a user to grasp the food without directly holding it. Some implements provide strong retention. These devices securely support food items while allowing a user to cut, grip, and tear the food apart.

Corncob holders, for example, securely hold the hard, thick, central core of a piece of corn. The protruding metal prongs of the holders inserted into each end of the core, hold the corn in place while the rows of grain or kernels of corn are chewed away. A typical corncob holder can be made of plastic and metal. Two metal prongs protrude from a plastic cylindrical handle. The handles continuous outer surface may slip when it becomes wet or greasy.

Other corncob holders feature a flat metal pointer that can be inserted into the cob. While the wooden surfaces of these corncob holders can provide stronger gripping surfaces, such devices are also susceptible to slippage. Moreover, the relatively short length of the wooden handles can create discomfort to a user who must grip the small outer surface of the handle and manually rotate the cob by moving their arms and wrists.

This invention is directed to an ergonomic holding device that facilitates the holding, serving, and handling of food.

SUMMARY

A vegetable holder is used to hold, serve, or handle food. The vegetable holder includes a handle, a retaining member, and an elongated member. The handle, which may be shaped like a tear, is coupled to the retaining member and the elongated member. The elongated member includes a plurality of projecting members spaced apart on a base.

A method of using the vegetable holder includes piercing a vegetable with one or more of the projecting members that extend from the elongated member; griping the handle with a plurality of fingers; and rotating the base that is connected to the piercing members with one's thumb or one's finger.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a holding device.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the holding device.

FIG. 3 is an alternate perspective view of the holding device relative to a plurality of coordinate planes.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a base of the holding device.

FIG. 5 is an alternate side perspective view of the holding device.

FIG. 6 is a second alternate side perspective view of the holding device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Conventional holding devices have stems or handles that are not easy to hold and may slip when they become coated with water or grease. These devices often require a user to conform their fingers to the round circular shapes of their handles and often require a user to move their arms and wrists to rotate the item. Because fingers can be extremely sensitive to pressure, the pressure needed to hold these devices in one's hands can cause discomfort. If an item needs to be turned such pressure must be released and reapplied.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a holding device 100. The holding device 100 includes a teardrop handle 102, a curved retaining member 104, and a rotating member comprised of an elongated penetrating member 106. The teardrop handle 102 extends from a distal end upwardly toward the curved retaining member 104 near its proximal end. As shown, the diameter near the proximal end tapers down to the small diameter of the distal end. At a point intermediate to the proximal and distal ends, strands, such as the metallic strands 108 and 110 shown in FIG. 1 are joined or coupled together by a fusible alloy such as solder.

At the proximal end, the convex surfaces of the teardrop handle 102 have a substantially U shape. While the teardrop handle 102 can have many shapes and have many curved or linear surfaces, in FIG. 1 the first substantially U shaped strand 110 traverses through the interior of the second substantially U shaped strand 108. The space that separates each strand 108 and 110 and a curve member 122 passing near them can conform to the curled grasp of a user's fingers. When grasped, the skin of the user's fingers and/or palm may partially fill these spaces which may strengthen a user's grip on the holding device 100. In some embodiments, the curved spaces formed by these metallic strands 108, 110, and 122 conform to the flexibility of a user's hand.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the curved retaining member 104 joins the teardrop handle's 102 proximal end to the elongated penetrating member 106 of the holding device 100. The curved retaining member 104 bends and passes between a plurality of cusp like members 112 that extend from the elongated penetrating member 106. While the curved retaining member 104 is shown bending at an angle less than about one-hundred and eighty degrees (about a forty-five degree angle, Θ=45) from a plane that contains the teardrop handle 102 (as shown by the coordinate planes in FIG. 3), in other embodiments, the bending angle may range from between about zero and one hundred and eighty degrees. To maintain the ergonomic feel of the teardrop handle 102, the preferred angle may lie between about forty-five and about ninety degrees.

Preferably, the contours of the cusps 112 are formed by two curves that meet, end, and are tangent to one another. The concave surfaces of the cusps 112 may provide additional support to the elongated penetrating member 106 when it is supporting an unbalanced item. In some holding devices, the outer surfaces of some of the cusps 112 may be biased by the outer surface of the curved retaining member 104. Alternatively, an interface 114 between the elongated penetrating member 106 and the curved retaining member 104 may prevent contact and/or serve to balance the item.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the cusps 112 extend toward the proximal end of the teardrop handle 102 and away from the elongated penetrating member 106. While the lengths of the cusps 112 may vary and may not be uniform in some holding devices, preferably the cusps 112 terminate at a point intermediate of the interface 116 and proximal end of the teardrop handle 102.

The base 116 of the elongated penetrating member 106 may have a substantially cross-like shape framed by a plurality of parabolic members 118 as shown in FIG. 4. From the front view, the parabolic members 118 may include concave and convex portions that are separated by linear sectors. Although the parabolic members 118 may be symmetrical about one or more planes (one plane is shown in cross section in FIG. 4), in other embodiments other shapes, symmetries, or lack of symmetries can also be used.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the interface 114 comprises a circular coupling that allows the base 116 of the holding device 100 to rotate about an axis at or near a center of the base 116. An orifice formed at or near the center of the base 116 may receive one end of the curved retaining member 104. The interface 114 may include a catch, lever, or detent that may lock the movement of the base 116 relative to the teardrop handle 102. In some holding devices, the locking force of the catch, lever, or detent can be overcome by a biting or biasing pressure that transfers a forward or reverse moment onto the item. In some holding devices, the locking force may be manually adjusted by a finger pressure.

One, two or more rounded projections 120 extend away from the base 116 of the holding device 100. Although the rounded projections 120 or prongs are symmetrically positioned about a plane and are adjacent to a vertex of at least one parabolic member 118, the projections 120 may be positioned anywhere about the base 116. The length of the projections 120 may be uniform or may vary as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The rounded projections 120 may comprise lance-like rods, may have a sword-like shape, or may comprise any shape that can grasp and/or pierce an item. The rounded projections 120 are rigid and are made of the same material as the curved retaining member 104 and teardrop handle 102. Alternatively, the projections 120 may comprise a flexible clamping arm that may retain items of relatively small or considerable weight and may be made of many different materials.

To use one exemplary embodiment, a user pierces the item with the rounded projections 120. A user may then grip the teardrop handle 102 by curling their fingers around the metallic strands 108 and 110. If additional stability is necessary, two or more holding devices 100 may pierce other portions of the item.

Although the claims are not limited to specific dimensions, FIG. 5 illustrates the dimensions of one holding device 100. L1 is the length of the teardrop handle 102. W1 is the width of the largest circular segment of the teardrop handle 102. L2 is the length of the curved retaining member 104. L3 and L4 are the lengths of the rounded projections 120. In an exemplary configuration, L1 equals about 5 inches, L2 equals about 1.5 inches, L3 equals about 1.5 inches, L4 equals about 1 inch, and W1 equals about 1 inch.

The above described holding device 100 can be modified into many alternative embodiments and may be used to hold, serve, and handle food. For example, the ergonomic holding device 100 device may give corn on the cob users a more comfortable and stable grip on the cob while allowing the users to rotate the cob without moving their arms or wrists.

The teardrop handle 102 may be shaped like a three-dimensional teardrop, more elongated and thin rather than short and fat. A wire 122 may run through the axis of the teardrop handle 102 before terminating at the base 106. At a predetermined distance from the teardrop handle 102, such as at about one inch, the wire 122 may bend at about a forty five degree angle and terminate at the rotating member 106. When portions of the rotating member 106 is pictured as a regular pyramid in FIG. 6, the wire 122 that partially forms the teardrop handle 102 passes through about the center of the base 116 through the pyramid's apex. The pyramid may rotate about the wire 122 as the teardrop handle 102 and wire 122 are held in place. When a fruit or a vegetable is held by one or a pair of prongs, the user may hold the teardrop handle 102 with their middle, ring, and pinky fingers while rotating the pyramid with their thumb and index finger.

The holding device 100 may be used to retain food or other materials and may be made from many materials. These materials may include solid silver, silver electroplating onto alloys such as nickel and copper, plating of nickel on to brass, and/or any other metals or alloys.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. 

1. A vegetable holder used to retain and secure an item, comprising; a handle shaped like a tear; a retaining member coupled to the handle; and an elongated member rotatably coupled to the retaining member; wherein the elongated member comprises a plurality of projecting members spaced apart on a base of the elongated member.
 2. The vegetable holder of claim 1 wherein the handle comprises a plurality of substantially U shaped strands.
 3. The vegetable holder of claim 2 wherein the plurality of substantially U shaped strands comprises a first substantially U shaped strand that traverses through an interior of a second substantially U shaped strand.
 4. The vegetable holder of claim 1 wherein the retaining member forms an angle with the handle that is less than about one-hundred and eighty degrees.
 5. The vegetable holder of claim 4 wherein the angle comprises about a forty-five degree angle.
 6. The vegetable holder of claim 1 wherein the rotatable coupling comprises a detent.
 7. The vegetable holder of claim 1 wherein the elongated member further comprises a plurality of cusps configured to balance the weight of an item that may couple the projecting members.
 8. The vegetable holder of claim 7 wherein the plurality of cusps are each formed by two curves that meet, end, and are tangent to each other.
 9. The vegetable holder of claim 8 wherein the plurality of cusps have a substantially uniform length.
 10. The vegetable holder of claim 1 wherein the handle is configured to be held by a plurality of fingers while allowing the elongated member to be rotated by a thumb or index finger.
 11. The vegetable holder of claim 1 wherein the elongated member comprises a substantially cross-like shape framed by a plurality of parabolic members.
 12. The vegetable holder of claim 11 wherein the parabolic members include concave members and convex members.
 13. The vegetable holder of claim 11 wherein the plurality of parabolic members are symmetrical about one or more planes.
 14. The vegetable holder of claim 11 wherein each of the projecting members are spaced apart about a line of symmetry and are positioned near a vertex of at least of the plurality of parabolic members.
 15. A vegetable holder used to hold, serve, or handle food, comprising; a handle means; a retaining member coupled to the handle means; and a rotatable member coupled to the retaining member; wherein the elongated member comprises a plurality of projecting members spaced apart on a substantially flat base.
 16. The vegetable holder of claim 15 wherein the handle means comprises a plurality of substantially U shaped members.
 17. The vegetable holder of claim 15 wherein the plurality of substantially U shaped members comprise a first substantially U shaped member that traverses through an interior of a second substantially U shaped member.
 18. The vegetable holder of claim 15 wherein the retaining member forms an angle with the retaining member of about forty five degrees.
 19. A method of using a vegetable holder, comprising: piercing a vegetable with one or more projecting members; griping a handle shaped like a tear with a plurality of fingers; and rotating a base coupled to the piercing members with a thumb or a finger.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the base is directly coupled to the projecting members.
 21. The method of claim 19 wherein the handle couples the base at approximately a forty-five degree angle. 